Conan of Venarium
is a Conan novel by Harry Turtledove. It is the last Conan novel published by TOR books. Synopsis stub The book opens with the Aquilonian army marching across the border of Bossonia into southern Cimmeria. As word of the invasion passes through Cimmeria, the army continues to press north, building forts each evening where they camp. Eventually their commander has advanced far enough onto foriegn soil. The last fort constructed is called Venarium. Conan's family lives in a town in southern Cimmeria called Duthil. It is located north of Venarium, a day's travel by foot. Conan's father is Mordec, the blacksmith and his mother is Verina who has been sick as long as Conan can remember with an illness that sounds like tuberculosis. Duthil is a good sized village, sporting a smith, a miller, a weaver, a tanner and other cottage industry. Word of the invasion soon reaches Duthil and Mordec and Balarg, the two leading Elders of the village determine how to proceed. Characters * Conan * Mordec, the smith - aka Mordec the mighty - father of Conan. Blacksmith and Elder of Duthil village * Count Stercus - Commander of the wing of Aquilonian army invading southern Cimmeria *Granth, Son of Biemer - Gunderman pikeman, Aquilonian army. *Vulth - Gunderman cousin of Granth *Nopel - Aquilonian sergeant of Granth and Vulth *Verina - mother of Conan *Fidach, of Aedan's Clan - herder from a Clan just over the border between Aquilonia and Cimmeria *Eogannan - warrior of Conan's Clan and village *Glemmis - warrior of Conan's Clan and village * Balarg, the Weaver - Elder of Duthil. He and Mordec are the two leading men in Duthil village * Tarla - duaghter of Balarg near Conan's age *Dolfnal, the tanner - warrior of Conan's Clan and village *Reuda - wife of Dolfnal *Treviranus - Captian of the Aquilonian garisson at Duthil *Benno - Bossonian archer garissoned at Duthil *Daverio - Bossonian archer garissoned at Duthil *Derelei - the miller's wife in Duthil *Nario - Captain in the Aquilonian army at Venarium *Torm - aquilonian guard at the barracks hall in Venarium *Ugaine - female youth from Rosinish Clan and vilage in southeast Cimmeria *Nucator - a farmer near Duthil village *Melcer - farmer from Gunderland who established a steading in occupied Cimmeria *Evlea - wife of Melcer *Tarnus - Melcer and Evlea's 6 year old son *Loarn - Cimmerian wandering peddlar and tinker *Nectan - shepherd living outside Duthil *Herth - cheif of a northern Clan from Garvard, on the border with Asgard, who travelled to the south to see the truth of the Aquilonian invasion for himself *Hondren - Gunderman pikeman garissoned at Duthil *Rahiderch - wandering Cimmerian seer *Wirp - boy in Duthil village *Dever - pikeman garissoned at Duthil *Sciliax - Aquilonian farmer who established a steading in occupied Cimmeria *Talorc - young Cimmerian warrior, part of Conan's raiding party that penetrated south into Aquilonia. *Crecelius - Aquilonian speaking to his friend in a tavern. *Renorio - Aquilonian farmer of onions. *Selinda - wife of Renorio *Polsipher - brother in law to Renario and merchant in Tarantia for Renario's onions Locations * Duthil - village in southern Cimmeria. Home of Conan and his father. * Uist - village two days travel from Duthil * Nairn - village two days travel from Duthil * Lochnagar - village to the north-west of Duthil, more than 2 days travel. *Venarium - fort and town in occupied southern Cimmeria *Bossonian countryside *Gunderland countryside *Aquilonian countryside *Tarantia Continuity Notes The WIlliam Galen Grey Chronology accepts this story as the first in the conan saga. 'Continuity Errata: '''This novel, while not as continuity-challenged as the novelization of 1982's Conan the Barbarian movie, still changes a number of key elements regarding Conan's life as established by Conan's creator Robert E. Howard. As such, the novel does not follow "canon" of Conan and is considered by some to be appocrypha (innacurate legend) instead of an actual Conan story. As far as non-Conan historical-fantasy goes, the novel is generally accepted as well written. Despite the fact that Robert E. Howard clearly established that Conan's tribe was from north-western Cimmeria in a letter to P. Schuyler Miller of 10th March, 1936, ''this ''novel places Conan's village in ''southern ''Cimmeria in the land taken by Aquilonia during their invasion. Also in the 1936 letter referenced above, Robert E. Howard states that Conan's first journey outside of Cimmeria was north, not south. Despite this fact, the last chapter of this novel has Conan leaving Cimmeria going south into the Bossonian Marches and then Gunderland to pursue the retreating Aquilonian army. He continues south into Aquilonia proper, raiding and stealing, eventually making his way to Tarantia. Once there however, within a few hours, he chooses, without explanation, to leave, travelling south and east. Robert E. Howard states that Conan returned to Cimmeria a number of times during his life. Yet ''this ''novel, employing the revenge-trope made popular in both Conan the Barbarian movies, kills-off everyone in Conan's immediate family (mother, father, love interest) and basically everyone else in his village. No brothers or sisters are mentioned as extant in the novel. Conan's grandfather is mentioned in passing but is not even named and does not make a personal appearance in the novel. Then, just before Conan marches south into Bossonia, violating REH's stated history of the character, Conan says, "I have no stomach for Cimmeria, not any more." and calls Cimmeria "...this accursed land." Finally, in the last chapter, everyone (else) in Conan's raiding party is killed in Aquilonia. So, everyone close to Conan both before AND after Venarium is dead by the end of the novel. This begs the obvious question: what then would compell Conan to return home so often? In story The Phoenix on the Sword, Howard wrote of a "...door which bore the royal dragon symbol of Aquilonia." Keep in mind that this door was placed there before Conan's time as king, so the symbol would have, logically belonged to Numedides and his predecessors. Then, in Hour of the Dragon, we see that Aquilonia's standard has changed to a golden lion on a black field, King Conan's symbol. In that same novel we see that Almuric the Aquilonian rebel, one of Numedides relatives, uses a golden serpent on a black field. Yet, in Conan of Vanarium, despite the fact that Numedides is named as the king of Aquilonia, we see the Aquilonian army carrying a golden lion on a black field. Robert E. Howard established that cimmerians used certain weapons; spears, swords, axes, knives. In Queen of the Black Coast, Howard wrote, "`Give me a bow,' requested Conan. `It's not my idea of a manly weapon, but I learned archery among the Hyrkanians..." Yet this novel has the bow as one of Conan's main weapons. Conan does not use a spear in this novel, despite the obvious reference from Hour of the Dragon when he relates a flash-back of his life and says: "'I saw again the battlefield whereon I was born...I saw myself in a pantherskin loin-clout, throwing my spear at the mountain beasts." In addition, Conan's father is a blacksmith, yet Conan expresses no interest in crafting or using a sword. The first time Conan holds a sword is when he takes Count Stercus' sword after he kills him. In additon, how Conan kills Count Stercus is very un-conan-like...he scratches the back of Stercus' hand with a POISONED ARROW. Howard only had Conan use poison twice in all his stories. The first time was against the dragon in Red Nails when it was obvious that he could not slay the beast on his own. The second was, even later in his career, when he attempted to trick and trap Captain Zarono and Captain Strom into a cave with poisonous mists in The Black Stranger, since both men (and their henchmen) were planning on killing Conan in the immediate future. Only againts the dragon did he use poisoned weapons. A number of people have commented (Dale Rippkeand others) that the level of civilization/advancement in Conan's village was too advanced based on Howard's description of Cimmeria. Howard's Nemdian Chronicles states that Conan was known as a fighter around the councils fires before he had seen 15 winters. That would make Conan 14. There is little of that statement in this book...the only battle that Conan would be known for in his village is the defeat of a number of wolves during his 13th winter. The Aquilonian that Conan kills when he is 13 is kept secret. So no-one around any council fire (none of which occur on-screen in this sotry, BTW) would have "know" it. People find out that he killed Count Stercus shortly before the sack of Venarium, but Venarium is supposed to take place over a year after he was "know" as a fighter. Which brings me to the last Howard continuity flub. Conan was already 15 at venarium, Howard is very very clear on that point. Conan was not born in the winter, so he would have seen his first winter ''before ''the end of his first year. When the novel begins winter has passed and Conan is 12. Only 2 winters pass in the novel. Prior to the second winter, the author states it will be his 14th, verifying that Conan was only 13 that year and will be 14 after that winter. Unfortunately, Venarium happens in the summer after that winter...so Conan woud be either 13 or 14 at Venarium. Not 15. Continuity errors with previous, non-Howard, stories by DeCamp and others are: Conan's father is named Nial in Conan and the Spider God. Conan's elderly mother is said to still be alive in The Star of Khorala. '''Odd Plot Devices: '''As Rippke and others note, Turtledove paints Conan's family situation as a mirror to that of Robert Howard's suggested home life as presented in the biography Dark Valley Destiny, considered by many to be factually innacurate. Conan's father's name, Mordec, is virtually the same as Mordecai, Howard's father's middle name. Howard had a mother that died of a wasting illness, Conan's mother was sick for as long as he can remember with Tuberculosis. Dark Valley Destiny portray's Howard as an overly devoted mama's boy...Conan is portrayed similarly in this book. Similary, Mordecai's relationship with his wife is characterized as emotionally distant, as is Mordec's relationship to Conan's mother. Conan's mother is oddly un-Cimmerian. When Mordec first goes to oppose the Aquilonians, along with his countrymen, she suggests that it is a bad idea. She also admonishes Mordec on more than one occasion to stop bossing Conan around when he is trying to teach his son wisdom about strategy and tactics or setting blacksmithing chores for his son, yet readily directs Conan to assist her with cooking chores like chopping vegetables for a stew. She takes the side of the Acquilonian Commander, Count Stercus, over that of a Cimmerian girl from another Clan who the count used as a body-servant for the first winter of the occupation, saying that the girl brought it on herself with "forward ways." and then makes similar statements about a girl from her own village. After Conan kills an Aquilonian soldier in self defense, Verina wishes Conan "...wouldn't get into so much trouble." and then goes on to tell her son, "Stay safe...Past that nothing matters. Too many I hold dear have died on one field or another. I don't want you to fall that way." When Conan responds that he won't fall that way because he wil make his enemy do so, she begins to cry. Conan the sheep herder? On more than one occasion Conan watches the sheep of Nectan the herder and decides, "This was the life a man was meant to lead. If he could have spent the rest of his days herding sheep on the hillsides and meadows of his native land, he was sure he would have been happy." Dale Rippke suggests that, while a Cimmerian woman taken as Stercus' body servant should prompt outrage among Cimmerians, the outrage over the fact that Tarla is 14 when she becomes the target of Stercus' affectations is disproportionate to the realities of pre-historic times. Rippke asserts that if a pre-historic, barbarian society was to exist, life-spans would be short, birth-rates would be high and marriages would occur quite young, with women bearing children soon after becoming able to do so. His thesis is that many Cimmerian girls would already be expected to be married and having a family by 14, so outrage over a woman of that age being a body-servant is an anachronism. If Stercus was to be reviled for enjoying the attentions of girls who were "too young" during the epoch in which the novel takes place, Tarla would have had to be younger that she is in this novel. But then, the sub-plot of Stercus poaching Conan's sweetheart would have been ruined. Rippke also suggests that the length of the occupation prior to repelling the invaders is too long. The Cimmerians would never have suffered the invaders to abide on Cimmerian soil for two years. Publication history * '' (novel) • Harry Turtledove • Tor July 2004 References Category:Conan book Category:Conan story Category:Conan novel